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Finally I was on the plane, bound, via a somewhat circuitous route, for Myanmar (Burma). The last few days before departure for fieldwork are always a frenzy of activity, however much planning has been undertaken, but this time it had been particularly frenetic. This project was oil-company sponsored and such contracts take what seem like an eternity to get signed off. With only days to go before our field work “weather window” closed, the contracts were finally signed, and we could plan, apply for our Restricted Area Permits, hire our guides, pack and buy our flights.

What’s so good about Himalayan sand?

I’m primarily a Himalayan geologist, so one might wonder why go to Myanmar? This stems from my special interest in looking at material eroded from the Himalayas, transported by rivers and deposited as sands in far distant locations. I use these sediment records to reconstruct the history of the Himalayan mountains. Some geologists have proposed that such a Himalayan sedimentary record is found in Burma.

And the interest in these sedimentary rocks to the oil industry? If they are indeed Himalayan-derived, they could make good oil reservoir material when further transported by rivers off-shore to potential drill sites. This is because such sandstones, having been transported a long way by rivers, are ‘clean’ by the time they are deposited, thus free of clays that would block pore spaces that may otherwise be filled with oil. But if the sandstone is locally sourced, it could still contain pore-blocking clays.

Whilst understanding that the presence of multinational companies in developing countries can bring both benefits as well as problems, I was excited to play a small part in Myanmar opening up to the outside world. There seemed to be a new spirit of cautious optimism in the local people I spoke to, compared to my first visit in 2005, although people were aware of the “long road ahead”.

A long and winding road

As we set off in search of our rocks, I noticed that most of the vehicles were right hand drive, yet Myanmar drives on the right. Our guide explained that the Myanmar government was often advised by astrologers, who had opined some years back that the country’s economy would improve if the country switched from driving on the left, to the right hand side of the road. I asked our guide if indeed the economy had improved as a result of the switch. He said no. It did make for more hair-raising driving conditions though, as all vehicles are now blind-sided when over-taking.

However, we soon left the major highways, and such worries were no longer our concern as we inched our way along mountain roads where the likelihood of meeting other vehicles, let alone overtaking them, was slim. The rocks we needed to reach lay in the far west of the country, where even our guide had never been before. The guide agency said they would “do their best to try” to reach our requested destination, but warned of “sub-basic” accommodation (which often meant that the bathroom was the river), and said they had no knowledge of the road conditions en route, or even if vehicle access was possible.

Although the road has been officially open since 2015, it is best described as ‘a work in progress’. We finally arrived, after a three day drive from the road head, with the last section completed by boat. Our journey had been helped, apparently, by the fact that a VIP had travelled the route a few weeks earlier so the worst road sections had been made more road-worthy in his honour.

Collecting the samples is only the start

The new road benefited us in other ways also. Geological research in Myanmar has been severely hampered in the past due to poor rock exposure; most of the rocks are covered by thick vegetation. The new road provides fresh road cuts, and an unparalleled opportunity for previously impossible research, available only for a couple of years before the vegetation will close in again and cover the rocks once more.

And so we collected nearly 500 kg of rock, with our driver becoming increasingly disconcerted as each new sample added to the problems of the now noticeably sagging rear suspension. But we made it back to the capital Yangon.

Asia had one more challenge to throw at us. Exporting samples to Europe for analysis is the perennial headache for every geologist working in Asia. “Bring them to the office, DHL will collect them at 11 a.m. tomorrow”, instructed our oil company sponsors. I was dubious, but hopeful; it is important to always remain hopeful (and resourceful!) as a field geologist in Asia, even in the light of overwhelming odds stacked against you. As I write this, one month on, I am still hopeful, although the rocks remain precisely where we left them in the Yangon office, held hostage to “export permitting issues”.

As well as hope, it is also essential to have unlimited supplies of patience for field work in Asia….. And so I wait, and look forward to starting the analyses to determine if the rocks are indeed Himalayan-derived, sometime in the (hopefully not too distant) future.

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Hear Yani describe what it’s like to look out over terrain that few others have seen in the Himalyas and Antarctica on The Conversation UK's podcast (Yani features from 24.45 to the end).